Marine propeller.



A. ZIMMERMAN. i MARINE PROPELLBR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 2, 191s.

Patented A111221, 1914 @mom/16oz HATON Z IMMERMHA d- @Hman m wif-humaan COLUMBIA PLANouRAPH Co.. WASHINGTGN, lu). c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANTON ZIMMERMAN, OF NEW TRIER, MINNESOTA.

MARINE PROPELLER.

To all whom t may concern: A

Be it known that l, ANTON ZIMMERMAN,

citizen of the United States, residing at New Trier, in the county of Dakota and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Marine Propellers, of which the following is a speciication.

rlhe present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in marine propellers, and has for its object to provide a device of this character which embodies novel features of construction whereby it will not become entangled with weeds and can be used upon shallow rivers and canals where a screw propeller would be inconvenient and churn up water to such an extent as to be objectionable.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a marine propellerwhich is inexpensive in its construction, which can be operated with a small amount of power, which can be easily repaired, and which can be arranged to admit of the vessel being backed as well as moved forward.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of the parts as will more fully appear as the description pro ceeds, the novel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view through a portion of the hull of a vessel having the improved marine propeller mounted thereon, portions of the propeller being shown in plan view while other portions thereof are broken away and shown in section to more clearly illustrate the construction. F ig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through one of the propelling elements. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a slight modification. Fig. A is a longitudinal section through the end of a propelling plunger, showing a modification in the construction thereof, and Fig. 5 is a detail view of a suitable form of lever mechanism for moving the side covers into and out of position.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the. following description and indi- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 2, 1913.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

serial No. 782,715.

cated in all the views of the drawings. by the same reference characters.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates diagrammatically the hull of a vessel. A pair of longitudinally dis posed tubular guide casings or cylinders 2 are arranged at the rear end of the hull so as to open through the stern thereof. A tubular plunger 3 is slidably mounted withm each of the guide casings 2, the rear end of each of the plungers being provided with suitable packingV rings t for producing a water tight engagement with the interior of the casing. The outer end of each of the tubular plungers is closed by a head 5 which has a concave face and is adapted to be projected rearwardly beyond the stern of the hull as the plunger is reciprocated. Upon the rearward movement of the plungers 3 the concave faces of the heads 5 thereof will engage the water and be resisted thereby in such a manner as to produce a forward movement of the vessel. However, when the tubular plungers are retracted or withdraw into the tubular casings 2, there will be a slight reaction, since the pressure of the water against the ends of the plungers will have a tendency to force them inwardly. Each of the rear plungers 3 is connected by a pitman 6 to a crank arm 7 upon a shaft 8, the said shaft being journaled in suitable bearings 9. As this crank shaft 8 is rotated the two plungers 3 will be reciprocated back and forth and alternately projected beyond the stern of the vessel so as to produce a continuous forward movement thereof.

Provision may also be desirable for producing a backward movement of the vessel,

and for this purpose a second set of propelling elements may be provided. In the present instance a tubular guide casing 10 is shown as fitted upon each side of the hull upon the exterior thereof, the said guide calsing opening toward the front of the vesse Plungers 11 which are similar in conlstruction with the before mentioned plun- 15 therein. A longitudinally disposed main operating shaft 16 is mounted within the hull and power may be applied thereto in any suitable manner. This shaft is mounted for a sliding movement Within suitable bearings 17 and is provided at the rear end thereof with a pair of oppositely facing bevel gear wheels 1S. One of these bevel gear wheels 18 is adapted to engage a bevel gear 19 upon the crank shaft 8, while the opposite bevel gear 18 is adapted to engage bevel gears 20 at the inner ends of the transverse shafts 14. A reversing lever 21 may be provided for sliding the main shaft 16 longitudinally so as to throw the. gears 1S into and out of engagement with the respective gears 19 and 20. When the gear wheel 18 engages the gear wheel 19, the crank shaft 8 will be rotated so as to operate the plungers 3 at the stern of the vessel and produce va forward movement of the craft. However, when the shaft 16 is moved longitudinally to bring the gear wheel 18 into engagement with the gear wheels 2O of the transverse shafts 14, the plungers 11 at the sides of the vessel will be operated and a backward movement imparted to the vessel.

In order to reduce the resistance of the laterally projecting side guide casings 10 to the forward movement of the vessel, covers 22 are preferably provided for the open ends `thereof. These covers may be j movably mounted in any suitable manner so as to be shifted into and out of position, and are formed with tapered or pointed forward ends so as to offer as little resistance as possible to the water. In the present instance these covers 22 are shown as slidably mounted upon the guides 23 so as to be moved away from the ends of the guide casings 10 when the vessel is being backed,

suitable levers 24e and connections being provided for shifting the covers into and out of operative position.

A slight modification is shown by Fig. 3, in which the tubular plunger 3 is shown as having a square cross section instead of a round cross section as shown by Fig. 2. The guide casing 2a has a similar shape. It will be obvious that the plunger and guide casing` may be formed in any desired shape.

A slight modification is also shown in Fig. 4 in which the head la of the plunger is shown as having a cup shaped formation of a substantially conical shape with a pointed inner end. The exact shape of the heads of the plungers can be modified as found most desirable, although it is essential that they have a concave or cup shaped face.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by-Letters Patent, is

In a marine propeller, the combination of a hull, a tubular guide casing applied to the exterior of the hull and projecting laterally therefrom, said tubular guide casing having an open end, a reciprocating plunger mounted within the tubular guide casing and adapted to be projected beyond the open end thereof to act upon the water, a cover slidably mounted upon the exterior of the hull and adapted to be moved over the open end of the guide casing, said cover having a pointed forward end so as to minimize the resistance to the water, and means for moving the cover into and out of position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANTON ZIMMERMAN.

litnesses THEoDoR MAMER, A. Nv. MELLISTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

